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THE CAREERIST: CHECKLIST FOR SUMMER’S END

Check out some of the latest posts on the lawjobs.com blog, The Careerist. Checklist for Summer's End: How to maximize what remains of the season Plus Big Bucks for Big Law in Big Divorces And A Closet of One's Own: Regarding Ken Mehlman

GETTING BACK TO SLEEP WHEN WORK IS ON YOUR MIND

In her former law practice, consultant Debra Bruce had a habit of waking up in the middle of the night with thoughts of work, which she didn't mind, unless she couldn't get back to sleep for hours. For others with the same habit, she has some tips to help them get back to sleep quickly.

CALIF. APPEALS COURT APPROVES CONTINGENCY FEE GREATER THAN CLIENT AWARD

A California appeals court has sided with Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy in a dispute over a novel contingency fee deal that called for more legal fees than the amount of money the client recovered. Upholding an arbitration award for the firm of $7.5 million, the court rejected arguments that the award -- based on a contingency fee of 16 percent of the client's estimated damages -- was unconscionable. A lawyer for the Cotchett firm's former client said the case "cries out" for California Supreme Court review.

10TH CIRCUIT: COMPANY’S AGREEMENT TO DEFEND FORMER CEO CONTAINED A LOOPHOLE

A teleconference company is off the hook, at least for now, from paying the legal fees of a former chief executive who was sent to prison for securities fraud. The 10th Circuit has ruled that a trial judge erred in granting a preliminary injunction in favor of ClearOne's former CEO who had an agreement with the company to pay her legal fees. The panel found that the agreement did not create an unconditional obligation to cover her fees and permitted the company to assert its own financial problems to avoid payment.

SAME-SEX COUPLE CANNOT GET DIVORCED IN TEXAS, APPEALS COURT RULES

A Texas appeals court has sided with the state office of the attorney general, ruling that a same-sex couple cannot get divorced in Texas. The panel said the trial court erred in holding that Texas law violates the Equal Protection Clause, and found that state law "recognizes that only opposite-sex couples are naturally capable of producing children," and gives them the option of legal formalization "with the legitimate legislative goal of encouraging such formalization and thereby promoting the well being of children."

FULL FEDERAL CIRCUIT NARROWLY APPLIES PATENT MISUSE DOCTRINE

A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled that an anti-competitive agreement between two companies to restrict the availability of one of their patents in favor of two others is not misuse of the favored patents. Applying the patent misuse doctrine narrowly, the court determined that the patents at issue are enforceable. The case involves the technology for recordable compact discs and rewritable compact discs.

CONSERVATIVE GROUP THROWS HAIL MARY PASS ON PROP 8

A new legal effort to force California's governor and attorney general to defend Proposition 8 in court may have some political potency, but is unlikely to win in court, legal observers say. The Pacific Justice Institute, a conservative group that has filed a petition for a writ of mandamus with a state appeals court to force the governor and AG to defend the statute, is up against issues of executive branch discretion and separation of powers, said one law professor. He called the effort "a long shot."

RIVALS IN POMEGRANATE JUICE MARKET GO TO TRIAL

Opening statements began on Wednesday in a trial pitting California upstart Pom Wonderful against juice-making giant Welch Foods Inc. over the marketing of their pomegranate juice products. Pom Wonderful's attorney said that Welch, lured by a growing pomegranate market, has squeezed Pom's bottom line by deceiving consumers into believing that its drink contains a significant amount of pomegranate juice. But Welch's lead counsel insisted the product's label merely explains how the juice tastes, not the percentage of juice in each bottle.

NEW YORK CITY LAW REQUIRES LANDLORDS TO TELL NEW TENANTS ABOUT BEDBUG INFESTATIONS

A new law in New York City aimed at helping prospective tenants combat the raging bedbug epidemic was signed into law Monday by Gov. David A. Paterson. Dubbed the Bedbug Disclosure Act, the measure requires owners and lessors to notify new rental tenants of bedbug infestations that have plagued the building and the tenant's individual unit during the previous year. The law comes amid a rash of complaints about bedbug. In 2009, New York's 311 hotline received some 11,000 calls about bedbugs, compared with 537 in 2004.

FEDERAL JUDGE WON’T CERTIFY CLASS IN PLASTICS ANTITRUST CASE

Four non-settling defendants have now won a ruling that effectively kills a settlement in a suit alleging price-fixing conspiracies in the markets for plastics additives. In his opinion in In re Plastics Additives Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis ruled that the plaintiffs cannot pursue the case as a class action because the theory of their antitrust claims is riddled with fatal flaws. The ruling is a victory for Dow Chemical Co., Union Carbide Corp., Rohm & Haas Co. and Arkema Inc.